PE Industry Growth

China’s private equity industry posted strong growth momentum at the beginning of 2017, with total assets surpassing $1.6 trillion at the end of January, a soar of $108.8 billion from the end of 2016. There were around 18,000 officially-registered private equity firms at the end of January, employing more than 280,000 people and managing over 47,500 fund products. The number of private equity firms with assets of at least $1.47 billion reached 147 at the end of January. The rapid development of private capital industry bodes well for China’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMES) which often have financing difficulty. Chinese securities authority has encouraged small firms to broaden financing channels, including attracting investment from private equity firms. With so many investors now looking for good companies in which to invest, the availability of capital for SMES is expected to increase in the years to come. Resources reached about $550 per square meter in 2016, according to statistics published on the ministry’s website. The price represents a rise of 5.3 percent from the fourth quarter of 2015. Land for residential use was priced at an average of $870 per square meter, a year-on-year increase of 7.9 percent, said the ministry. In comparison, the average land price for industrial use stood at $115 per square meter, 2.8 percent up from a year earlier.